CASSELBERRY, FL. Inspectors visiting Metro Diner at 1419 SR 436 on September 21 found that the kitchen was not following procedures to destroy parasites in fish, a violation that means customers may have consumed fish containing live Anisakis or tapeworm larvae.
That was one of nine high-severity violations documented in a single visit. The restaurant remained open.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite violation was not the only finding that put customers at direct risk. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, meaning pathogens including Salmonella in poultry can survive undercooking at temperatures below 165 degrees Fahrenheit and reach a customer's plate.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled, a violation that carries a risk of acute chemical poisoning if cleaning agents or sanitizers contaminate food or prep surfaces.
Inspectors also documented that employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, and that handwashing technique was improper throughout the facility. Those two violations together create a direct transmission route for norovirus and other pathogens from kitchen staff to customers.
The restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, leaving elderly diners, pregnant women, and customers with weakened immune systems without information they would need to make an informed choice about what they ordered.
Shellfish identification records were inadequate, meaning there was no reliable traceability if someone became ill after eating oysters or clams. Inspectors also noted food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. On the management side, no person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties during the visit.
Three intermediate violations accompanied the nine high-severity findings: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction citation is among the most direct food safety failures an inspector can document. When a restaurant skips required freezing or cooking protocols for fish, parasites including Anisakis roundworms and tapeworm larvae remain viable. Customers who eat that fish have no way of knowing the risk, and no warning was posted.
The undercooking violation compounds that concern. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Combined with a kitchen where no person in charge was actively supervising, those two violations describe a facility where no one was verifying that food reached safe temperatures before it left the kitchen.
The illness-reporting and handwashing failures are what epidemiologists call a direct transmission route. Food workers who continue working while symptomatic are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks, according to CDC data. Improper handwashing technique, as opposed to skipping handwashing entirely, means pathogens remain on hands even when a worker believes they have washed.
The sewage disposal violation is worth noting separately. Improper wastewater handling creates a risk of fecal contamination spreading through a facility, and inadequate toilet facilities reduce the likelihood that employees use restrooms and wash hands correctly in the first place.
The Longer Record
The September 21 inspection was not an outlier for this location. State records show 25 inspections on file for this Metro Diner, with 276 total violations across the facility's history.
The most recent prior inspection before September 21 came on July 21, 2025, when inspectors documented 12 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate violations. Before that, a March 2025 inspection produced 6 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations. A February 2026 visit found 5 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations.
The pattern is consistent. Of the eight most recent inspections on record, six produced high-severity violations. The two that did not, in June 2025 and September 2024, appear as brief interruptions rather than a trend toward improvement.
The facility has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history.
Open for Business
A follow-up inspection on September 22, the day after the September 21 visit, found 2 high-severity and 1 intermediate violation. A second follow-up on September 29 found 1 high-severity and 1 intermediate violation.
Both follow-up inspections confirmed the restaurant had remained open throughout.
On the day inspectors documented parasite destruction failures, undercooked food, sick employees not reporting illness, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and no manager present, Metro Diner in Casselberry served customers through its dinner service. The state did not close it.
